I had originally planned to write and post an article regarding Karate and Bunkai (Application) today but given that since last night, all I can think of is De La Hoya’s performance against Pacquiao, I’ll post a little something about boxing instead – not last night’s fight, that’s over (I’m actually a big fan of both boxers, but De La Hoya really failed to impress last night).

This is a review of Jack Dempsey’s ‘Championship Fighting: Explosive Punching & Aggressive Defence’. Jack “The Manassa Mauler” Dempsey is a boxing legend, known for his aggressive forward-moving style (similar to that of Joe Frazier and Mike Tyson –Tyson is known to have modelled himself after Dempsey, including shaving the sides of his head for fights) and one of my favourite all-time boxers; he was World Heavyweight Champion from 1919 to 1926.

The book, which as far as I know, is now out of print but is a great resource for any boxer (or fighter in general) looking to power up their punches. The information presented was written in mind for both ring boxing and bare knuckle fighting. This was a conscious decision by Dempsey who feels that trainers are forgetting that boxing at it's very core is about self defence - he asserts that too many young boxers are taught solely technical boxing whilst ignoring the importance of packing a powerful punch!

Another famous icon to draw on Dempsey’s knowledge was the legendary Bruce Lee – some study of both their books shows you the clear influence that Dempsey’s ‘vertical punch’ and ‘falling step’ had on Lee; furthermore, Lee’s counterpunching techniques used in the Jeet Kune Do system are heavily modelled after those that Dempsey describes in this book.

Aside from punching skills, the book goes over training, conditioning, defence, sparring and the proper way to watch a boxing match.It’s well-written and easy to read, providing some insights to Dempsey’s own thoughts regarding boxing.

The book can be quite difficult to get a hold of but the information presented in it is actually quite cutting edge (especially since it was published in 1950!)...except for the illustrations, the illustrations are charmingly 1950.

Here is a list of the book’s chapters:

1. Explosives at Toledo

2. Good and Bad Toledo Aftermaths

3. Punchers Are Made; Not Born

4. Why I Wrote This Book

5. Differences Between Fist-Fighting and Boxing

6. You're the Kayo Kid

7. What is a punch?

8. The Falling Step

9. The Power Line

10. Relaying and Exploding

11. Stance

12. Footwork

13. Range

14. Straight Punching from the Whirl

15. Purity in Punching

16. Hooking

17. Uppercuts

18. Punch Ranks First

19. Your Sparmate

20. General Defense and Blocking

21. Deflection

22. Evasion

23. Feinting and Drawing

24. Training

25. How to Watch a Fight

I’ve read that there is a pdf version of the book floating around the internet – so if you feel so inclined, give it a quick Google. It really is worth it.

About Me

Just your average martial arts enthusiast. Training and studying the martial arts have always been a huge part of my life.
I have a Shodan in Ashihara Karate and have spent some years in the Shotokan style as well. Recently, I've been focusing a lot on Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
I have had experience in a variety of other styles (Boxing, Capoeira, Muay Thai etc) but the only other style I'd say I've really seriously trained in is Butthan-Bando (but that was quite a long time ago). This blog is a way for me to track my training and thoughts while hopefully helping you with yours!
By the way - none of the techniques or ideas presented here are a substitute for proper instruction. Use the information presented with common sense and caution!